


A Moment in the Sun

by snarky_saxophonist



Series: Sun Came Out Today [1]
Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: 2016 MLB Season, Alternate Universe - Magic, M/M, They still play baseball though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 04:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14845715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarky_saxophonist/pseuds/snarky_saxophonist
Summary: Brock doesn't want to get attached to rookies, especially not this one with a quick bat and beautiful hair and magic burning at his heart. But Andrew doesn't seem to agree with that.





	A Moment in the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the same universe as the Bryzzo magic fic I posted awhile back, but this one comes chronologically before that one It's not really necessary to read that one to understand this, although that one does dive deeper into an explanation behind the magic in this universe.
> 
> If you haven't read that one, here's a quick rundown on how magic works in this:  
> -There are two types of magic users, energy wielders and spellcasters  
> -Spellcasters can do more finessed magic while energy wielders have a sort of magical brute strength  
> -Magic users are not super common, but it's not really an unusual thing. Non magic users tend to not know about it, although there are some exceptions
> 
> This is set in August of 2016, when Benintendi was first called up to the majors, and deals in large part with the knee injury he sustained on a baserunning mistake during a game in Tampa Bay. 
> 
> As usual, if you or anyone you know personally is tagged in this, please click away now. This is intended solely for entertainment and is not meant to reflect real life.

Brock doesn’t get attached to rookies. He doesn’t. So when this kid come up, hot with a bat and great in the field with some gorgeous flow, eager to learn, Brock adamantly refuses to interact with him more than absolutely necessary. It’s clear that Benintendi’s going to be in the majors for a long time, the way he’s been playing in the minors and in his short time up with the Sox already. But that doesn’t mean Brock has to like him. Because he possibly already likes him too much, and he can’t risk talking to him and finding out that he likes more than just the kid’s hair and looks. And the rookie's magic keeps reaching out towards him and the other magic users in the locker room, trying to entangle itself into the fabric of the Red Sox. Well, Brock's not going to be a part of that. Let the rookie interact with David and Mookie's magic, he doesn't need to interact with Brock's.

Except Benintendi doesn’t seem to like that. He corners Brock after an off day workout in the locker room, dark hair tousled and wet from his shower. It’s an unfairly good look on him.

“Did I do something to piss you off?” His tone is polite, but Brock thinks there’s a hint of defensiveness beneath it.

“No,” Brock replies shortly, yanking on a shirt and steadfastly looking away from Benintendi. 

“Then why do you refuse to talk to me? Do you have a problem with who I am?” Benintendi demands, definitely starting to get angry now.

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” Brock asks, finally turning to face Benintendi. And damn, he looks really hot when he’s pissed.

“Look, I know I don’t hide who I am, and some guys don’t like that, but if you have an issue with it, I’d refer if you spoke to me directly,” Andrew says, getting more heated. Brock’s glad that it’s just the two of them left in the clubhouse, because he honestly has no idea what Benintendi’s talking about. “If you don’t want me to pick up guys when I’m out with the team, I won’t, but fucking talk to me, man.”

And oh. That’s what he’s talking about. 

“You’re gay?” Brock asks, genuinely surprised.

Benintendi, however, looks even more surprised and somewhat taken aback. “I mean, yeah. I don’t exactly keep it a secret. You really didn’t know?”

“I haven’t spoken to you, like you said, so how could I have?” Brock points out. Good for Benintendi, really, but this doesn’t help Brock’s dumb attraction to him.

“Okay, so if you’re not a homophobe, what’s your issue?” Benintendi just looks confused now. “It’s not – I’m not going to come on to you, if you’re worried about that.”

“What if I want you to?” Brock blurts, completely without thinking, and – fuck. He shouldn’t have said that. 

“I – what?” Benintendi asks, eyes so wide it looks like they’re going to take over his face.

“Never mind, forget I said anything,” Brock says quickly. He can feel the heat in his face and knows he’s blushing like crazy. Hopefully Benintendi can just be a normal rookie and blindly listen to everything a vet tells him.

“You’re into guys too?” Benintendi asks. There’s something desperate in how hopeful he sounds, and Brock realizes that for all his bravado and anger earlier, Benintendi must’ve been scared too. It can’t have been easy for him to come up through the system as a gay player, without anyone to talk to. Brock, at least, is also attracted to women, so it’s probably been easier for him.

“Yeah, Benintendi. I’m bisexual,” Brock tells him, arranging his features into something that hopefully doesn’t look quite like a scowl.

“You can call me Andrew, you know,” he says, and fuck, Brock really doesn’t need to get any closer to him. “Look, I’m not going to be creepy or do anything, you know, but it’s just nice to know that it’s not just me, okay?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Brock says, finally softening. “It’s definitely not just us, though. I’m not going to out them, but there are guys on other teams for sure.”

“Oh,” Andrew says, eyes wide again. He looks so lost and confused like that that Brock can’t help but feel for him.

“Hey, do you want to go get lunch or something?” Brock offers. It certainly can’t hurt to lend the rookie some help, and maybe an ear if he needs to talk. Brock will just have to get over his dumb crush sooner rather than later.

 

So Brock doesn’t get over his crush. But it turns out he doesn’t really have to, because apparently Andrew also had a dumb crush on him. Brock does caution him about the dangers of being in a relationship with a fellow teammate, especially as a rookie, but Andrew says he doesn’t care. And, as he points out, he’s already out to the team, as is Brock, so it’s not like that’ll be an issue. And really, Brock’s not going to argue with him when he’s got his fingers tangled in Andrew’s hair and is kissing him and it feels like the world is lighting on fire from the intersection of their lips. Brock’s never kissed someone else with magic before, which maybe contributes to the feeling, but he’s certainly not going to try to figure it out while he and Andrew are making out on his couch.

 

And even though Andrew’s only been up in the majors for three weeks, he fits in well with the team. He’s excelling at the plate and in the field – Brock’s not going to lie and say that Andrew’s homer-robbing catch in Tampa wasn’t incredibly hot – and he’s a good personality in the clubhouse, helping to keep the team loose. 

They’re not exactly forthcoming about the fact that they’re dating, but they also don’t make an attempt to hide it around the team. Nobody says anything when Brock takes Andrew’s hand as they wander out of the locker room. There are definitely interested eyes watching them, though. Brock doesn’t particularly care. He trusts his teammates, knows they’re not going to out either of them, and if anybody says anything shitty, David will take care of it. Brock’s just going to worry about winning baseball games and spending time with his new boyfriend.

 

Yeah, the loss to Tampa Bay is disappointing, but Brock can’t particularly bring himself to care, not when Andrew had gotten injured. He’s the first one back into the tunnel once the game is over, coming close to running through the clubhouse into the locker room. Andrew isn’t there, so Brock figures he must still be in the trainer’s room. He pushes open the door to the hall-

-and nearly trips over the crutches lying haphazardly on the floor. Brock freezes, hand braced on the wall to keep his balance as his gaze slowly travels from the crutches to Andrew, sprawled motionless on the floor. It takes a long moment for the sight to register, because Andrew- Andrew hurt his knee. There’s no reason for Andrew to be lying unconscious on the floor. 

Then Brock spots a faint red glow emanating from behind Andrew’s closed eyelids, and his stomach drops. He’s on the ground next to Andrew almost before he’s realized he’s moved, pressing a hand to Andrew’s chest desperately. He closes his eyes and lets his magic sweep over Andrew’s body, honing in on the fading concentration of energy in his knee and the lack of magic surrounding his heart, where it normally rests. There’s virtually nothing there, and Brock can feel Andrew’s life fading fast beneath his hand.

“C’mon, Andrew,” he mutters, forcing a spike of his magic into Andrew’s body. Brock has never hated being a spellcaster more than he does now. He doesn’t have the sheer magical reserves needed to replenish Andrew’s system, but he can’t leave him to go get someone who does. But if Andrew doesn’t get help, he’s going to die. His heart is going to stop while he’s lying on the floor of a hallway in fucking Tropicana Field and there’s nothing Brock can do to stop it.

"Jesus!" A sharp voice startles Brock almost enough to make him let go of where he's clutching Andrew's hand. Jackie is staring down at them, horror written across his features, but all Brock sees is a chance. "What-"

Brock cuts him off before any more time can be wasted. "Go get David and Mookie, right fucking now, tell them it's an emergency. And Archer if you can find him, now!" 

Jackie, to his credit, doesn't question Brock, just turns and runs back the way he'd come.

"Hold on, Andrew," Brock whispers. He can feel Andrew's heartbeat slow further even as he tries desperately to use what little magic he has to keep him alive. 

Brock almost cries in relief when David pops into existence next to him, inhaling sharply when he sees Andrew. Mookie's there a moment later, sprinting in through the door instead of teleporting, but both drop to the ground next to Andrew. 

"What do you need?" David asks, looking more serious than Brock has ever seen him.

"Funnel your magic through me, I can channel it into him and hopefully it'll be enough to replenish him," Brock says grimly, positioning both his hands on Andrew's chest and letting his eyes slip closed as he searches his mind for the spell he needs.

He feels two sets of hands touching him, and then the magic pouring into him is so strong Brock almost loses his train of thought. He's never felt this much magical energy, but now's not the time to dwell on it. Now he has to save Andrew.

Brock clenches his teeth and focuses all of his attention on Andrew's slowing heartbeat, casting a spell of rejuvenation and urging the magic from David and Mookie into his fading body. Magic is attracted to strength, so it doesn't want to go from Brock into a weaker vessel, but Brock isn't going to let it win. He pushes harder, yanking the magic along and shoving it into Andrew's body.

The magic doesn't seem to be taking, though. It's just pooling in Andrew's heart instead of spreading through his body with each breath, and Brock realizes with an almost physical pain that Andrew is even further gone than he'd thought. He needs another spellcaster, one to weave the magic through Andrew, but there's nobody else. Even if Archer comes, he's an energy magician, not a spellcaster.

Brock jerks one hand away from Andrew's chest, tangling his fingers in his hair instead. He's never tried two spells at once, but there's simply no other option. Keeping the rejuvenation spell going through the hand still over Andrew's heart, Brock concentrates on creating a binding spell through his other hand. He almost loses his hold on the first spell, the effort of clinging to two spells and channeling the magic pouring into him almost too much. But he can feel the binding spell working, can feel the magic starting to connect to Andrew, to the ebb and flow of his life energy. It's still too weak, threatening to dissipate as soon as the tether to Brock ends. He has no intention of letting go, though, so he ignores that and focuses on keeping both his spells his spells fueled and feeding the magical energy into Andrew's body.

All too soon, however, he feels the flow of energy into him decrease. It has to be Mookie dropping out as he's spent his magic, but Brock isn't sure that David's magic will be enough to finish the job. The magic in Andrew's body still feels fragile, ready to be snuffed out at the slightest blow. Andrew's heartbeat is still far too slow, and though the magic has spread through his body, it's still too thin and there's barely any resting in his heart.

There's a sudden surge of strange magic flooding into Brock, and he almost breaks his spells to instinctively lash out at the foreign magic. He feels more than hears David's voice, calming him and telling him that it's just Archer, lending his magic to the effort. Brock doesn't waste breath on a response, instead redoubling his efforts with the extra magic. It's starting to make a difference, he can feel a bit of response from the body beneath him, but it's just not enough. He needs to restore Andrew to his full strength, to be beyond sure that he can't just slip away-

Brock's magic reacts violently when someone pulls him bodily away from Andrew, the stored up magic lashing out as he fights to get back to Andrew.

"Hey!" Mookie shouts, nearly in his ear, with a tone that makes it seem like it's not the first time he's said it.

"No-" Brock gasps, twisting in Mookie's grasp. His vision is slowly returning to the physical world, and he can see David and Archer working over Andrew, but neither of them are spellcasters.

"Brock, you need to stop," Mookie tightens his arms around him. "You've done all you can, if you keep trying you're going to kill yourself. They've got it covered now."

"I'm fine, I can-" Brent argues, but the rush of magic ends abruptly, and he sags in Mookie's arms, utterly drained.

"Dude, you're still shaking," Mookie says, not unkindly. "Look, if anyone can fix this, it's David. You know as well as I do that he's one of the strongest magic users around."

"But Andrew-" Brock breaks off yet again, shaking his head mutely. He's so drained that the action makes his vision swim, and he leans back against Mookie. He doesn't want to think about the feeling of Andrew's fading strength, but with David now frowning over his prone body, it's impossible not to.

"David's got it handled," Mookie assures him. "The last thing we need is you draining yourself too."

Brock doesn't have the strength to argue that it's better him than Andrew, so he just slumps back against his teammate and watches David and Archer pump magic into Andrew’s prone body. 

“I need him to be okay,” Brock mutters, closing his eyes. He can’t watch. He can’t look as his non-spellcaster teammates try to fix this.

“What happened?” Mookie asks gently.

“I don’t know. I got here after the fact,” Brock admits. “I’m guessing he tried to heal his knee and completely depleted his magic in the process.”

Mookie curses under his breath. “Why the hell would he do that? That’s the stupidest fucking thing to do with your magic.”

“Don’t have to tell me that,” Brock mutters. He finally opens his eyes again, looking over at where David is straightening up and pulling away from Andrew. He looks more exhausted than Brock has ever seen him, but his normal smile is in place.

“Your boy’s gonna be alright,” he says to Brock. Brock pushes himself away from Mookie with trembling arms, nearly flopping ungracefully next to him. He presses a hand to Andrew’s chest, pushing his magic a little past where he should to scan through Andrew’s body. The magic is still weaker than usual and interwoven with Archer’s strange magic, but Andrew’s heart is strong and shows no sign of fading. Brock lets himself go boneless, head slumping down over Andrew’s chest as he tries to resist the urge to cry.

“Hey,” Archer pulls him upright, away from Andrew. Brock almost wants to fight him, but he’s too overcome with relief to move. “You’re not going to fade on us too, are you? Because I don’t think we have enough magic between the three of us to revive a second person.”

“I’m okay,” Brock assures him with a bitter laugh. He knows it’s about as believable as trying to tell a Yankees fan that the Red Sox are actually better. 

“I’ll go get water and some protein bars,” Mookie offers, disappearing back into the clubhouse. Archer lets Brock go, and he leans against the wall, lifting Andrew’s shoulders so his head is pillowed on Brock’s thighs instead of the floor. The faint glow under his eyes has faded, which isn’t necessarily a good sign, but with David’s faint smile across the hall from him, he can relax a little.

“He probably won’t wake up for a little bit,” David warns. “I’ve dealt with this a fair number of times, and it takes different people different amounts of time to wake up. But he’ll be fine. You acted quickly enough.”

“Was it because he tried to heal himself? Can you tell?” Brock asks, running his fingers through Andrew’s long hair.

“I believe so. Did you know that he has magic? I had no idea,” David says, frowning. Brock knows that David’s magic is strong enough that he can easily detect when any other magic user is nearby, so it’s weird that he wouldn’t know about Andrew.

“He never told me, but I could sense it in him,” Brock admits. “I don’t know why he would do this.”

“I don’t know either,” David says. “Usually this happens when it’s when it’s a crippling injury or they’re incredibly desperate. Andrew shouldn’t have been desperate, and this wasn’t going to be career ending. Maybe season ending, but the season’s nearly over anyways. He shouldn’t have done it.”

“We can ask him when he wakes up,” Archer says. “Or you can, at least. I’m going to head back to my locker room now. Good luck to him.”

“Thanks for the help,” David says, standing up and hugging Archer. The pitcher smiles slightly, clapping David on the back, then disappears down the hall. The door doesn’t close all the way behind him before it swings open again, revealing Mookie with an armful of food and drinks.

Brock takes the Gatorade his teammate hands him, twisting off the cap and draining nearly half of it in one go. It doesn’t do anything to replenish his depleted magic, of course, but he does feel a lot better after it. Mookie gives him a pointed look when he tries to refuse the protein bar, so he reluctantly unwraps it, idly noticing that his hand isn’t shaking anymore.

As he glances down, he notices Andrew’s eyelids starting to flutter. His features are contorting in pain, fine lines appearing around his eyes as he shifts a little bit. 

“Andrew?” Brock asks quietly, putting his food down to cup Andrew’s jaw. He can see David and Mookie looking over at them, attention drawn by his question.

Andrew’s eyes finally flicker open, gaze wandering around before stopping on Brock’s face. He frowns, swallowing a couple of times before opening his mouth to speak.

“What happened?” His voice is cracked and quiet, nothing like how it usually is. 

“You tried to heal yourself, you dumb fuck,” Brock says, choking on a sob as the emotion fully hits him.

“Oh. Right.” Andrew glances down at his knee, wincing slightly. “Why does that make me a dumb fuck?”

“Because you tried to heal yourself! God, don’t you know not to try that for anything more severe than a damn paper cut?” Brock demands.

“What?” Andrew shakes his head, pushing himself so he’s sitting more upright against Brock. “That doesn’t make sense. I have enough magic to heal more than that.”

“Who taught you magic?” David interrupts before Brock can respond. 

“Nobody taught me magic. I can just do it,” Andrew says, shrugging slightly.

“Okay, it looks like we’re going to be giving you a crash course once you’re feeling better,” Mookie says. “But a quick pointer before we do that: never try to heal yourself. It takes more magical energy than anyone has. You’re extremely lucky that you’re not dead.”

“Oh,” Andrew says, paling. 

“Come on, let’s get back to the hotel so you can get some rest,” Brock suggests, getting to his feet and offering Andrew a hand so he doesn’t have to put weight on his bad knee. Mookie collects the fallen crutches and passes them over once Andrew’s standing, then offers them a small smile and retreats back towards the locker room. David gives Andrew and Brock both gentle hugs, whispering something in Andrew’s ear that Brock can’t quite hear, then follows after Mookie.

“You haven’t showered yet,” Andrew points out as Brock starts to move down the hall. 

“I’ll shower there. I don’t care.”

“You shouldn’t-“ Andrew starts to argue, but Brock spins around to face him instead of walking next to him.

“Andrew, you just about died right here in this fucking hallway, right in front of me,” Brock snaps. “I don’t give a single fuck about whether I’m sweaty. I want you to be resting in a hotel bed right now, with ice and ibuprofen and more rest so you can replenish your magic. So I’ll shower there, once I know you’re resting and safe. Alright?”

“Yeah,” Andrew says, eyes wide. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t know, you don’t have to be sorry. But don’t ever scare me like that again,” Brock says, starting to walk again. Andrew’s slow and awkward with his crutches, so Brock goes ahead to pick up their bags from the locker room. Thankfully, most of the team is in the showers or has already headed out, so Mookie, David, and Jackie are the only ones in there. 

“Hey,” Andrew says, struggling to catch up with him. Brock slows obediently so that Andrew can hobble his way through. “I won’t. Will you teach me about how to use my magic?”

“You’re not a spellcaster,” Brock says idly. “David and Mookie would be better suited to it. But we’ll make sure you know how to use it.”

“I hope you know that I don’t know what that means,” Andrew says with a short laugh.

“We’ll teach you that too,” Brock promises. “You seem to have a lot of raw power, but it’s always better to know how to use it. You never know when something will come up that requires a lot of magical talent and knowledge.”

And he'll be damned if he's going to let anything else happen to Andrew.

**Author's Note:**

> There's going to be another one or two short fics set in this magic AU, and then a massive league-wide story that's about half done. No promises on when that'll actually get finished.
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please drop a kudos or let me know in the comments!


End file.
